He
by azure skies6070
Summary: Set in 6th year, Hermione suddenly finds herself attracted to strangely behaving Draco and she is determined to find out and if possible help him, where did that come from?
1. Chapter 1

He is quiet. Not a word from him, I didn't actually believe Harry when he raved about how Malfoy's actions are making him suspicious. Harry is known to be overly dramatic, but Malfoy's actions make me think otherwise. Has he finally matured enough to turn his back on Blood purity? I highly doubt that, but where is the old snobby pureblood boy I grew up with, he most certainly doesn't keep his gob shut when we pass by him. Something has gone wrong over the summer and as Harry suspects he could be one of them.

"Mione, you okay? You seem a little pale and what's …" Harry noticed that I haven't touched the lunch and I have been staring at the Slytherin table for too long, at a particular blond who hasn't touched his food as well. "Why are you staring at Malfoy like that? " Malfoy just happened to see us looking at him. He stole a glance at me and looked away immediately. I couldn't recognise him; his features didn't show the same disgust as in second year. It was almost as if he is not Malfoy at all, some imposter with polyjuice potion.

Just as I lowered my gaze to my plate, I heard abrupt shuffle and raised my head to see him get up and nearly run towards the exit. His right arm clutching the left as if it hurt severely. I glanced back to Harry, but he was busy chatting to Ron about upcoming Chudley Cannons match with Ireland. Ginny was also talking away to a girl from her own year. No one would notice that I'm gone.


	2. Chapter 2

What am I doing? I haven't got a slightest clue why I'm here in empty corridors and following Malfoy, as if I'm a lovesick puppy. I kept good 50 feet away from him though, nearly jogging to keep up with his fast, long strides. He is still clutching his left forearm gingerly. He stopped abruptly and looked back and I found myself hiding in an adjacent corridor. He pulled out his wand and murmured something that I couldn't quite understand. The wall that marked dead-end suddenly swung open and he disappeared into the darkness of the room.

The door is slightly left ajar and no one is in sight. I thought quickly and made my decision with the fear that the door may close. I plunged my hand into my robes to find my wand and gripped it tight and stepped inside. There was a musty smell in the room, like the kind in the library. Like old parchment and something distinctly familiar, but I couldn't place it. Even though I don't will myself to fear, sweat furrowed my brow and cool September evening felt too warm. The surroundings somehow intimidated me. Malfoy is nowhere to be seen in this massive hall with all sorts of general clutter, and then realisation dawned upon me. This is the Room of the Hidden Things; I remembered reading it in "Hogwarts, a history".

A sudden movement to my right broke my train of thoughts; my hand flew with my wand tightly wedged in my fist and my eyes closed with the swift movement. All I could hear is laboured breathing which I wasn't sure if it was mine or not and gathered my courage to open my eyes expecting to see him with his trademark sneer, but there was nothing except tumuli of dirty objects.

There is a light at the left hand corner of the room; I walked towards it tentatively, my knuckles turning white from gripping the wand so tight. I was careful not to make any noise. I guided myself through endless mazes of mountains of hidden things and just when I thought I lost my way again, the path led straight to him in front of broken shards of metal. He looked desperate, as if he is trying to fix it. It is to be joined to form a weapon of some sort, but what? , if I could try after he is gone. What if it is a dark artefact? My brain raced with thoughts. Maybe this is a conquest that is assigned to Malfoy by You-Know-Who. I was staring intently at the thing that he was trying to piece, trying to figure out what it could be.

"Expellia..." he noticed me, my heart sped and I quickly dodged the spell.

"Stupe….." he attempted another, but I casted a protego before it hit me.

His appearance has changed somewhat, his neatly pressed robes are horribly wrinkled and the tail end of his shirt is sticking out from his belt which is half open. During examining Malfoy I didn't realise that my shield has worn out and I'm defenceless, but I realised it too late. A purple spark erupted from his wand and hit me square in the chest and I flew in the air before landing with a painful thud on the stone floor, I hit my chin and I tasted a coppery tang in my mouth. My head felt terrible and I lay there to see a pair of black Italian loafers stand next to my head. I tried to move myself, but the pain blinded me. He knelt next to me and my head started to spin as he pointed his wand at me, he muttered something I didn't catch and unconsciousness took over.

GENERAL POV

Draco looked at the brunette girl in front of him as she slowly passes out. He cursed himself for using such a strong jinx. He healed her best he could or Poppy will throw a fit if she sees her this way. He stood up to leave when he caught himself staring at her. She has soft cheeks and her nose is quite adorable as it puffed up in anger. She was good-looking _for a mudblood_. A nasty voice in his head told him. He snapped out of it and stood up disgusted with his thoughts. His soft face replaced by the mask of indifference. A Malfoy sneer adorning his lips.

"That is where you belong… underneath my shoe. Dirty blood is always dirty. Filthy little Mudblood!" with a billow of his robes, he left Hermione there in her pool of blood, Mudblood.


	3. Chapter 3

I am extremely sorry for updating so late, I had exams and it was study, study and study. Anyway here it goes. Btw it stays general point of view from now on. I find it difficult to write in first person's point of view.

The coming of December bought usual mirth into Harry and Ron. The coming of Christmas meant even more of luxurious breakfasts, Mrs Weasley's gifts, chocolate, snow and both Harry and Ron are leaving to the Burrow. Hermione's parents are attending an international dental seminar in America on behalf of Britain at Ritz-Carlton. They were extremely honoured to represent Britain at such a big event and Hermione couldn't be happier for them. Unfortunately this meant that Hermione has to spend this Christmas at Hogwarts, not that she didn't like being there, in fact Hogwarts is her second home.

Burrow, this time is not an option. She politely declined Molly's invitation to go there. She spent half of the last summer there already, besides she doesn't feel like studying in a house full of people. She needs to study as she fell slightly backward in her studies. Too back for her comfort. She was mysteriously in hospital for a week in September. She didn't remember how she got hurt so bad that she had a concussion. Harry and Ron suspected Malfoy yet again, but Hermione believed that she could outdo Malfoy in every duel.

{PS Draco obliviated her}

Draco Malfoy stood at the train platform waiting patiently until it was time to leave. The giants next to him are annoying him with their extreme food manoeuvres. Pansy was clinging to his left arm, reminding him how much she will miss him which she probably has done five thousand times already. Blaise was just hovering next to Pansy, waiting until he and Draco are both alone on the train.

No one except for Blaise knows what is going to happen to Draco this Christmas. The Dark lord postponed Draco's undertaking as death eater ritual till this Christmas. This in his opinion will be his worst nightmare coming true in less than a week. He dreads it. At ripe age of 16 years he is forced to commit his life to pureblood bigotry.

What is wrong with him? He keeps on thinking these thoughts: he is Draco Malfoy, pureblood wizard, the only heir of the Malfoy clan and of the fortune. He is to serve the Dark lord until his death. These thoughts, they are only remnants of that night back in September. He remembers it as clearly as his right hand. The curse impedimenta sent Her...Gra….the mud blood flying through mountains of clutter. He remembers biting his lower lip as he approached her collapsed form hoping that she didn't die.

Again he thought of it again, he is supposed to hope that she does die. Why does he care anyway? The Dark lord will kill them all and a new era of pureblood wizards will be established. That's what he wanted didn't he? That all mud bloods like her to be wiped out. He would've said yes when he was twelve, now he is not so sure. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the familiar chestnut curls in company of two red heads and scar head.

"Hermione you know that it is not too late you could still come home to burrow." Harry said boarding the train which is about to leave in 2 minutes. Ginny got in after him and Ron followed.

"Harry for the 27th time, I will be fine here. Bye, have a nice Christmas and don't you all dare to forget to owl me." The trio on train laughed and waved as the Hogwarts express slowly moved on the tracks. Hermione didn't notice a particular blond head staring at them wishing his life could be as loving and happy as theirs.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello there, nice to see you. Without further ado here it is.

Draco and Blaise searched for an empty compartment in the train and a little glare to the first years did the trick. They shuffled to their feet and left the compartment and shut the door behind them. Draco sat down heavily opposite Blaise next to the window looking at the blurry countryside that separates Hogwarts from the muggle world. It was Blaise that broke the deafening silence with his voice gone raspy from the December cold.

"What are you going to do Draco? You will have to swear your allegiance in less than a week."

Draco shifted his gaze to his lap and looked outside the window once again. He gulped and sighed before answering, "I don't know." That was all he said. Blaise couldn't believe his ears. His friend has given up. After all throughout 5th year when he planned and schemed to avoid the undertaking ceremony, now it all vanished into thin air.

"What do you mean you don't know? Are you just going to go along with it? What about you talking to Dumbledore, I'm sure he ….." Draco interrupted Blaise, his fists clenched and his posture stiffened. "No one…no one can help me or the situation I am in right now. I have to do this alone, after all it is just a bloody vow to the Dark lord….an unbreakable vow…" his voice trailed off and his barrier of unaffected exterior threatened to break.

He was already branded with the dark mark last summer, but to be a proper death eater, one must take an unbreakable vow to swear allegiance to the Dark lord and …. Unbreakable vows are only broken with death. If he took the vow he has to serve the Dark lord until his death or the Dark lord's death which Draco was sure couldn't happen, Voldemort's powers are increasing day by day and his followers are increasing as well. Harry Scar head Potter is no match to the amount of dark knowledge teeming in Voldemort's head.

Hogwarts is sure to be bought to its knees soon.

That horrific truth is unknown to Hermione as she happily talked to Neville and Luna who didn't go home this Christmas, admiring the giant Christmas tree in process. She would go to the library soon to catch up with her potions subject and also get little bit of holiday homework done and also some odd research would be nice.

Luna as usual talked about some strange creature called a Crumple Horned Snorkack.

"It is quite hard to find them as they disguise easily and only come out in early mornings". Hermione intelligently asked Luna questions about this creature which seemed to lighten Luna's eyes with excitement to explain even more.

After the enlightening breakfast talk, Hermione skipped towards the library. It was quiet and peaceful. The snow is falling a little quicker now; the grounds are covered with blankets of white wet snow. She shivered slightly and pulled her cloak tighter as she reached out to open the door knob which leads into book wonderland. She was ready to be welcomed with the smell of musty parchment, when….

Suddenly a hand grabbed her left shoulder and tightly clamped her mouth with the other. Panic clouded her brain and she tried to yell out a muffled scream. It was a man, she understood that, but who is it? She wrenched his arms to flee from his grasp, but he recovered quickly and before she had a chance to catch glimpse of his face, he slammed her straight to the adjoining wall, the sound of a nose breaking was heard. He pressed his front to her back to prevent her from escaping. He held her wrists in on hand and fumbled in his robes to pull out his wand while Hermione screamed for help. There was no one in the corridors to hear her. He pressed his wand against her temple and an audible "petrificus totalus" was growled into her ear.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi again! Thank you for the great reviews. I read all of them. They keep the story going. The story continued….and I'm sorry for late update I was on a vacation to India. It was simply amazing.**

She fell into his arms after he casted the full body bind on her. Her eyes wide open with fright and her lips parted in mid-scream. Fear pounded in her veins as the mysterious attacker half-carried and half-dragged her across the corridors. He was panting; she could feel his heart thrumming on her back. He wrapped his arm around her torso and the other hand held his wand so tightly that it formed little white welts in his palm. She sagged in his arms as he struggled to keep her upright and in desperation he ended up carrying her. Now she could see under his hood. Angular jaw, full lips and tall Roman nose. He looked somewhat familiar, but once again ….who?

They entered a massive room; she couldn't crane her neck to see it as the bind is still in place. Horror erupted in her brain as she explored the possibility that this person whoever he was could assault her, she is defenceless against him now. He could easily break her wand, rape her and then…..she cringed inwardly at her thoughts. She could just kick him and then run once he lifts the body-bind off her. Hermione trained her brain to cope with her ambiguous situation.

He gently put her on the ground and lifted the bind. She could kick him now, but …..He lifted his hood off. White blond hair tumbled on his shoulders, a jagged scar over his left brow and dressed in muggle clothes underneath heavy-duty travelling cloak was the pureblood extraordinaire Draco Malfoy. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she stared at him in horror. He simply looked at her sadly. His arm was still over her torso and she wasn't sure if she liked the feeling of it. She looked down at his arm and looked up to him. He took the signal and quickly withdrew his arm as if it burnt. He moved and put some space between them.

"Who are you?" she asked him and immediately felt dumb. There is only one person in the world that has platinum blond hair so white it looked like manufactured moonlight. The eyes that looked like striking silvery grey. She reached out to touch his chin and gasped when he still didn't vanish, as a pigment of her dream. "You know very well who I am" he spoke quietly and stood up. She stood as well. He looked very different yet the very same. He looked older, skinnier and his body which used to be slightly burly is now all bones and skin. He looked to be about 20.

"No, no… you're not Malfoy, you are different… You look like his twin… but you're very different…I…." she stammered out, for the first time she didn't have an explanation to express herself. She was stuck for words. He smiled, but his eyes betrayed him. They looked as if they saw too much of reality. "I am honest, my name is Malfoy, but I am not of this time. I am a time traveller". He held up his silver locket shaped in an hourglass, she fell back against the mountain of objects and slid down to the floor. She looked at him again expecting to see him disappear and waking up in her four poster bed next to Parvati's.

That didn't happen of course and she forgot her manners and stared at him bewildered. "You're real" she whispered and he knelt in front of her. "Astute observation, Granger" his humour gone unnoticed "why are you here? How the hell did you manage to get here? Where did you come from? And you came for me? You hate me don't you" her thought process immediately converted to words tumbling out of her lips, _pretty lips….._

He chuckled at her outburst. He sounded tired "You told me you would burst out"

"I told you? You mean my future self?" he smiled nodding that she quickly grasped the topic.

"Okay let's start with the basics. I travelled back in time, 5 years to be exact. A lot of very important things will happen this year. I will tell what happens from time to time, but not all now."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but he shut her up by raising his hand and said "I know you are curious, but if I tell you everything about your future, you could be in deep danger. Therefore I can only tell you parts of it." She nodded, accepting to all the rules and regulations. He smiled and sat down properly on the floor opposite her.

"Okay….." he started and paused for a second. "Sorry I was just organising my thoughts…. Right. After the fight in the ministry this year, everyone knows that there will be a war soon, so the Order of Phoenix will gather as many volunteers as possible. Almost the entire wizarding world places trust in Potter. They will believe that he is the "chosen one" to defeat Voldemort once and for all, but it will all be in vain. Dumbledore will be murdered this year very soon. Everything will fall into utter chaos. The Ministry will be infiltrated; death eaters in Azkaban will be freed by Voldemort himself. The Britain's wizarding world would be controlled by him. Potter, you and Weasely will escape for the time being. Death eaters will kill everyone in their way. Anyone less than half bloods are tortured, raped, tormented for their amusement. Hogwarts will be blasted into smithereens. This place will be nothing but a ruin in the next five years. All of you who supported the Order of Phoenix will be killed, including Potter…and you as well. Voldemort himself will kill you both. Weasely will be tortured by my crazy aunt and he too dies. It will all be a gruesome end for all you if things continued on the same way. Every single hope will die with the trio's death. People will give up, some will join Voldemort, others will flee is persecution. I've witnessed mass emigration, but that is useless as well. Voldemort will move to Bulgaria to bring Durmstrang to its knees, by then everyone who opposed to Voldemort here will be dead or will be on the run. The death eaters will torture and kill every traitor and it will all start with Dumbledore's death in a few months".

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes and she looked at him stunned and shocked. "How can someone like Dumbledore be killed…..I mean he is the greatest wizard of all time, if Voldemort is scared of anyone, its Dumbledore."

He sighed "I know, but that's how things will end up. Potter won't be ready to kill Voldemort and will die soon after Dumbledore's death in this very school. He …..Look I would've told you everything if I could, but I can't. All I ask you to do is to help me to avert this war. We can save Dumbledore and change the tide of this war because it now is definitely running in favour of the dark side. My younger self will take the Undertaking of Death eaters this Wednesday and will repair that bloody cabinet to let Death eaters into Hogwarts. If that happens then that's it. We have to stop the undertaking as well and get my younger self out of there he doesn't want this no more than you do. Please Granger, this is my only chance. I promised my mother before she died that I would set things right. Please I need your help in this. I promised you as well."

Hermione didn't realise that tears broke their barrier and fell. He held out his palm to take her promise. She wiped away her tears and put her hand into his and smiled bravely, "I will help you Draco I promise you." She then stood up and before leaving he turned around and said "by the way, I am sorry for breaking your nose." She then noticed her nose with dried blood under it. Poppy will fuss over her again.


	6. Chapter 6

HELLO THERE MY PEOPLE. I APOLOGISE FOR NOT WRITING SOONER, SOOOOOO SORRY.

ANYWAY, HERE WE GET AN INSIGHT OF HOW DRACO ENDED UP IN THE PAST.

FLASH FORTH TO FUTURE 5 YEARS…

_It is raining; dreary saturated clouds roared with thunder and sent lightening that sparkled like stainless steel glinting in the sunshine. Typical British weather and it resembled Draco's mood. The air smelled of hopelessness and fear. It was dark and they both were exhausted physically and mentally. The rain pounded on his skin, mocking him. He felt like he was going to cry out of despair, out of sorrow. His heart was pounding; sweat broke out on his brow even though the air was cold enough to shoot daggers onto one's skin._

_Defeat, a bitter word. As soon as Potter died, all hopes hit the rock bottom. They had no choice, but to flee. It was hopeless fleeing as well. Death eaters were better equipped than any of the order. With marauder maps to track them down it became impossible for any of the order member to escape from their clutches. _

_The situation is hopeless anyway. Almost all of the order is dead, Voldemort has moved to Bulgaria to oversee the destruction of Durmstrang himself. The dark witches and wizards of Bulgaria are putting up more fight than he imagined it to be. Draco hoped that the fucking dark lord stays in Bulgaria until all the horcruxes in Britain are destroyed._

_The death eaters here are torturing traitors, muggleborns, squibs and anyone deemed to be unfit for the pureblood society. At present Hogwarts is being blown apart. The walls that stood as their refuge countless times, it too gave up its fight. No matter how bad the situation is Hermione didn't lose her hope. It shined like a thousand lamps engulfing Draco in it forcing him to hope for better. He couldn't help, but think of what ifs. He cursed why should it happen like this? Why did Potter die? Why couldn't they all have their happy endings? Potter wasn't ready. He just gave up, bloody coward. Draco thought._

_But then Potter possessed so much of a courage that Draco could only dream of having. Potter's death shattered him so much that he wouldn't like to admit it._

_On the very verge of her death, his mother took his promise that he would change the war. "…..make that bastard suffer….. Please …Draco, promise me." He promised out of desperation, in order to fulfil his mother's last wish. He didn't understand which bastard she meant though, Voldemort or…..his father. He was the worst excuse of a father; he is a monster, a pureblood bigot who licked voldemort's feet._

_She stopped suddenly; they both had been walking for what it seemed forever in the Evergreen forest situated about 40 miles from Hogwarts at the very edge of the wizarding world. It was dangerous to be here like this, both of them are wand less and their wandless magic is not strong enough to defeat any death eaters. His aunt Bella and Fenrir are constantly looking for them, to kill the last supporters of light._

_She stopped breathing in order to hear better and clutched his and even more tightly. All he could hear is his heart pounding in fear, tis might as well be their last day. He held her hand back tighter, refusing to let go in a fear that she might be snatched from his reach. _

_As they imagined death eaters jumped from the shadows, he swore he could see tears leaking from her eyes even in the heavy rain. They both were quickly restrained despite the attempts to run. A black apparition trail of a death eater dropped onto the forest floor and from it Bella emerged. The split second of lightning made her even more terrifying than she is. Draco now could feel nothing but pure hatred for her. _

_She walked quickly towards them and stopped seeing their hands tightly held in the others. She raised her eyebrows sneering the entire time. "No wand to disfigure your face now muddy? Huh? Oh I see … your face is already disfigured." She cackled out loud like a banshee and other death eaters took as a clue to start laughing at the joke. "Leave her!" she ordered them and they left Hermione as if she was on fire. "I want to have a talk with this one, girl to girl" she said in her face. He could see fear clouding Hermione's eyes for the first time. _

_He was helpless, nothing he could do to save her, bloody nothing! He could hear Hermione's screams echoing off the massive pine trunks. He struggled against Christian Warrington, a traitor who betrayed the Order and got Molly and Arthur killed. He was like a human boulder and Fenrir watched Draco amused to watch him struggle. Her screams are even louder now, her face looking at him, but he could focus on her properly, the rain distorted his vision. _

_He felt Warrington slightly loosen his grip on Draco's upper arm, he snatched the chance and wrenched himself fully from his grasp and landed a swift, hard punch in his gut. He ran to land a similar punch on Fenrir, but the man-beast somehow caught his flying arm and threw Draco to the ground. Then he did something that he wouldn't dream of doing it in front of Bella, he kicked him in the stomach, on the shoulder and a final kick on the head. By now Draco felt his head reeling, his vision blurred as Warrington came and spat on him. He felt excruciating pain as if someone hit him with a sledge hammer. _

_He could hear the distant whoosh of apparition. They didn't kill him, Warrington and Fenrir must've thought that he was dead. The dimwits!_

_Why didn't they kill him, why must he be left in this hell of a pain, then he remembered her… she could be dead by now. She suffered more pain than him. The bravest woman he ever knew. _

_He walked to her corpse…or mostly hobbled, his ankle twisted terribly and each step sent pain shooting through his entire body. He a saw her, bloodless, but the bravery is clearly seen. Dead, but still alive in is heart. He fell to his knees next to her and without even trying to control himself; he let out a sob as e frantically tried to lift her, but was unable to do so. He wailed in despair and pulled her head onto his lap. He kissed her cheeks and rested his forehead against hers. _

_After a long time, he straightened up because his back threatened to break, just then something caught his eye. Her fist tightly shut, he could see white welts on the heel of her palm. He gently opened her fist and found a small locket. It looked like an hourglass, realisation dawned upon him when he realised it was a time-turner. He looked at her; she was deep in eternal sleep. He wiped his tears and spoke softly "if this is what you want me to do, then I'll promise you, Hermione. I will turn this war around" he kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear "I will snatch back what is meant for us." He paused for a second and said so gently that even he barely heard it "I love you"_


	7. author's note

i am just saying that the H key [it is working now] is not working properly.

i do apologise if there is a h missing for some words. gos i do hate grammatical errors.


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